Growth may have been bumpy in 2020, but the stage is set for a sharp cyclical rebound.

Actually, the rebound is already here. The future now is way bigger and (some) companies are going to get there regardless. The playing field has been levelled.

These past few months have felt busier than ever, with no slowdown in sight when it comes to startup funding and growth. Venture investing business rebounded with a vengeance after a brief pause in April 2020. Higher deal velocity, big spike in seed & series A deals - investor interest in Indian startups not only sustained but increased in a pandemic-marred year. The amount raised this year was higher than in 2016 and 2017 and $1.5 billion of the new capital came in December alone.

As markets shut down and governments across the world issued stay-at-home orders to stem the Covid-19 outbreak, 100X.VC and other funds continued to invest in early-stage startups. We funded 9 startups in Class 02, August 2020 and backed founders from Femtech, Wellness, AgriTech, Cyber Security, and HRTech sectors. We have just closed Class 03 investments ( to be announced through VC Pitch Day on January 21st).

What we witnessed and continue to observe is the emergence of markets which aren't evenly distributed. Last year around the same time, I wrote a blog -  2020: Driving Innovation through Next-GenMoonshots where I touched upon a few sectors. Covid accelerated adoption for a few of these sectors and fundamentally changed consumer behaviour. For the first time, Indians and India truly saw digital transformation! Indian SaaS started to come of age and EdTech had a year like never before. Technology helped us all cope with the pandemic. 

What 2021 has in store for all of us:

Given how far we've moved into the digital landscape, covid truly has acted as a catalyst. Broad trends accelerated which are likely to change the way we work and live in 2021:

• Remote Learning:

   Online Courses & Vernacular Content

• Cyber Security:

   Personal Surveillance Technology with Distributed CyberSecurity

• TeleHealth Technology:

   Continous remote Diagnosis, Virtual fitness and teletherapy

• Fintech:

  Contactless Payments, Mobile Financial Services and InsuranceTech

• MediaTech:

  Streaming Services will face the real test

As we launch applications for Class 04 Seed funding, 100X.VC is excited and optimistic to back founders building new capabilities to drive the next wave of growth, with strong covid tailwinds driving collaboration and productivity.

Will 2021 bring better times? I believe it will be the beginning of a new era for India and Indian Entrepreneurs. Founders can bring scalable solutions to real problems and those who are disciplined and agile - will pave the way for the new frontier and establish their mark.

Its time to innovate across sectors and functions! Apply to Class 04 Seed funding: [email protected]

Wishing all a very Happy New Year 2021!